Haven't signed a petition . Where is it ? Research said about writing to your MEP to support stopping it happening and there are 8 MEP for my area . Signing petition would be easier than writing to all of them ! Wonder whether we will end up staying in eu

Sorry but animals don't exist to be tortured and abused for our sakes. I know my feelings won't be popular on this forum but I have to be honest. Most animal experiments are worthless and unnecessary anyway, and we should be supporting research into humane methods of testing drugs.

Hi Tabbycat Parkinsons uk is committed to the minimum possible use of animal research but at the moment there doesn't seem to be an alternative . It is a fact that we would not have treatments like levodopa and DBS if it had not been for the testing . Treatments have advanced considerably in the last forty years . Sooner or later we all have to go on this medication if we are to maintain some quality of life unless we decline it on principle .

No, I'm not on medication yet. However, I wouldn't refuse it on ethical grounds because that wouldn't have any affect on what's happening now - medicines being widely used have already been tested. But I strongly believe finding alternatives should be a priority and animal testing phased out.

A group in Europe has presented a petition to the European Commission asking them to change legislation and ban research involving animals. We want to ensure this doesn’t happen as the use of animals in research has contributed to many breakthroughs in our understanding of Parkinson's and the discovery of current treatments. This includes a key treatment, the drug levodopa as well as Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). You can read more about this here.

Parkinson’s UK believes there is an urgent need for ongoing research to advance our understanding of Parkinson’s, improve treatments and ultimately find a cure. The use of animals, such as fruit flies and fish, is currently an essential tool in this research, but we are committed to the minimum possible use of animals and to ensuring the highest regulatory standards are maintained. For example, we follow the '3 Rs' principle to reduce, replace and refine. This means:

Reducing the number of animals used in experiments

Replacing their use with alternative methods where possible

Refining techniques to maximise animal welfare

I hope this helps to explain Parkinson’s UK’s position on the use of animals in medical research and why we want to ensure that this research can continue to take place in the UK and Europe.